


Slenderstuck

by honoraryangel



Category: Everyman HYBRID, MLAndersen0, Marble Hornets, Tribe Twelve
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, alternate universe - sburb, emh and tt cut off from canon at the northern trip/noah, i've been making this au for over two years, later on there's stormy and alex koval!, marble hornets at entry 63, mlandersen0 at so it goes (2), mlandersen0 is at the same time too, please help, time bullshit - marble hornets is happening during everything else
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 19:49:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17710472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honoraryangel/pseuds/honoraryangel
Summary: Noah Maxwell recently returns to Florida with four packets in hand- two for himself, and two for his cousin, Milo Asher. These were given to him by Evan Jennings up in New Jersey, who'd been given twelve copies of each packet. But four have gone missing- where'd they go?An AU in which twelve Slenderverse protagonists play a game that ends the world.





	1. [S] BEGIN

======> ENTER NAME.

> What? What the fuck is this? You aren't getting no name entered, because you're well over 13 years old. Your name is NOAH MAXWELL, because your parents chose it or something. Anyway. You've recently disembarked from the plane you were on with your COUSIN, MILO ASHER. It's a MIRACLE that he's still alive, honestly. You feel kind of bad for the guy.  
> But whatever. Your name is NOAH MAXWELL and you've recently met with ACQUAINTANCES, notably VINNY EVERYMAN, EVAN JENNINGS, and JEFF KOVAL. STEPHANIE ????? wasn't at the meeting, but you can't blame her. She has said, however, that she will be on the memo that everyone's planning.  
> Your friend, EVAN, has given you and MILO a GAME. It's a weird game- not even he knows where he got it from. It showed up at his doorstep with a single note, saying that it would help. Inside it were 12 copies of the same game with the green spirograph, which isn't the weirdest thing about it. These copies were promptly redistributed to the EverymanHYBRID crew, you and Milo, SHAUN and MICHAEL ANDERSEN of MLAndersen0, and the last four were… uh… where'd they go? Evan doesn't know. Whatever.

> You and Milo get home. You open your laptop, and so does he. 

CURRENT carnahanAuthor [CCA] opened memo on board SESSION MEETING 1  
CCA: Easy as that.  
CURRENT godlessGuardian [CGG] RIGHT NOW responded to memo  
CGG: Oh. Thanks, Jeff.  
CCA: No problem.  
CURRENT aggravatedCook [CAC] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.  
CAC: It’s a party in here!  
CCA: Others will be coming in soon.  
CURRENT tribeTwelve [CTT] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.  
CURRENT troubledChronicle [CTC] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.  
CCA: There they are!  
CTT: Hey hey.  
CURRENT artisticTorrent [CAT] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.  
CAC: Steph!!!  
CAT: Hello!  
CTT: Your acronym says CAT.  
CAC: That's absolutely adorable  
CGG: Order in the memo!  
CURRENT carnahanAuthor [CCA] promoted CURRENT godlessGuardian [CGG] to PROFESSIONAL WET BLANKET.  
CGG: Pretend I'm banging a gavel.  
CGG: Shall we do roll call?  
CAT: If you insist.  
CAC: Evan here!  
CCA: Jeff.  
CGG: Vin.  
CAT: Stephanie.  
CTC: ...milo.  
CTT: And I'm Noah.  
CURRENT apatheticAxeman [CAA] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.  
CAA: hi.  
CGG: You must be Michael, right? I’m one of the guys that contacted you.  
CAA: i know.  
CAA: oh that was rude, sorry. uh.  
CAA: yes i’m michael  
CAC: It’s alright, dude! No problemo  
CCA: We’re chill here.  
CTT: What's with the handle, Michael?  
CAA: um.  
CAA: don't worry about it.  
CTT: If you say so.  
CGG: Where's Shaun?  
CAA: he's  
CURRENT grievingCynic [CGC] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.  
CAA: ...here.  
CGC: This is the memo, right?  
CCA: One and only.  
CTT: Yeah- welcome.  
CCA: That's everyone, right?  
CCA: Me, Vin, Evan, Steph, Noah, Milo, Michael, Shaun?  
CAC: Yeah  
CAC: But i'm still confused about where the other four copies went  
CGG: Are you sure there were four other copies?  
CAC: YES!  
CAC: Yes i'm sure there were four others.  
CAT: Did you misplace them, perhaps?  
CGC: Sounds like an important thing to misplace.  
CAA: shaun.  
CGC: What!  
CTC: why were you sent twelve copies if there's only eight people?  
CTT: Whatever, really.  
CTT: Maybe they were just extras.  
CTT: Should we start now?  
CAC: Yeah, I have an order to it  
CCA: Let's hear it!  
CAC: Noah -> Milo -> Michael -> Shaun -> Vin -> Me -> Steph -> Jeff -> Noah  
CAC: A loop!  
CTT: Milo and I are partners!  
CAT: Did you make the list just so you could be partners with me, Ev?  
CAC: No!!  
CAC: It just. Happened  
CAC: Promise.  
CCA: Okay, Noah, load up your server program. Milo, your client.  
CTT: Aye, cap'n.

======> NOAH: Load up server program.

> Alright. You minimize Pesterchum on your screen and double-click the server program on your desktop, the client beside it. From what Evan told you about, you'd be last in. But you'd be the first to help.

CTC: loaded.  
CTT: Clicka clicka.

> With another double click, you press the "troubledChronicle" name and you're greeted with a wonderful view of your cousin's house. This is not creepy at all. Alongside that is a menu of Sims-level things, and you first wiggle the mouse around and click on Milo. The application buzzes and Milo jolts.

CTC: what was that  
CTT: Sorry.  
CTT: Evan, you said I could manipulate his surroundings?  
CAC: Yeah

> You move the mouse to click on Milo's journal beside him, and the application buzzes again. Whatever. With that, you move your camera until there's an open space- thank god Mary isn't home. You decide to deploy the smallest device- the Totem Lathe.

CTC: what was that  
CGC: You said that already.  
CAA: shaun.  
CGC: You said that already, too.  
CTT: Deployed the totem lathe.  
CTT: You should go check it out, I think.  
CTC: okay.  
CURRENT troubledChronicle [CTC] is now an idle chum!  
CGC: Why does it say current before our names?  
CGC: It's not like we're going to be anywhere but.  
CCA: Maybe in logs of chats, it says past?

> Milo moves from his room to timidly lean out the door frame and peek at the totem lathe. It's white, smooth, and weird. Next to him (but still at a safe distance), you place down the other two machines, and the pre-punched card on the surface of the alchemiter.  
> He scrambles back to get his laptop.

CURRENT troubledChronicle [CTC] is no longer an idle chum!  
CTC: what are these?  
CTC: shaun, i didn't say it a third time.  
CAA: haha.  
CTT: Big platform machine is the Alchemiter, and the one with the cylinder is the Cruxtruder.  
CTT: That's what the display says.  
CCA: Send a screenshot.  
CURRENT tribeTwelve [CTT] has sent controls.png to the memo!  
CAC: Yeah  
CAC: You have to open the cruxtruder first, see the wheel on the side?  
CAC: It can only be opened with something heavy though  
CAC: Unless you’re strong  
CCA: Like you?  
CAC: Yes exactly  
CTC: okay.

======> BE MILO.  
> You are now MILO ASHER. You do not have time for silly introductions, talking about people like your COUSIN, NOAH MAXWELL. Not at all. In fact, you’re kind of freaking out right now, because said cousin just set down three large machines and a small card in your house.  
> You quickly open your JOURNAL MODUS and scribble down the word ‘laptop’, shooting it into your inventory.

CURRENT troubledChronicle [CTC] is now an idle chum!  
CTT: I’ve still got my eyes on him.  
CTT: Is that weird?  
CGG: No, not at all.

> Evan said you had to open the cruxtruder with something big. Nothing comes to mind.  
> And then your mother’s safe clips through a wall and gets dropped on the top of the cruxtruder, and you jump back from the machine to not get your feet crushed. The safe falls safely and a dark green spirograph jumps out along with a smooth cylinder the same dark green.  
> The timer reads 11 minutes and 11 seconds.

CTT: Two things came out of the cruxtruder.  
CTT: A cylinder and a flashy eyehurtball.  
CAC: That’s the kernelsprite  
CAC: He HAS to throw something in it

> You whip out your Journal modus again and scratch a line through the word ‘laptop’, it now appearing at your feet. Put away the journal, and now you open your laptop. But you’re not greeted with the memo.

CURRENT aggravatedCook [CAC] is now an idle chum!

> And on your screen…

ghastlyTradition [GT] began pestering troubledChronicle [TC] at 20:12  
GT: SIR, WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME?  
TC: who are you?  
TC: how do you have my handle?  
GT: DON’T WORRY ABOUT THAT NOW!  
GT: LOOK AT THE CRUXTRUDER.  
GT: CLOCK’S TICKIN’, HUH?  
TC: oh god  
TC: what do i do?  
GT: I’LL HELP YOU THROUGH IT, CALM DOWN.  
GT: I’M ONLY HERE TO HELP, REALLY.  
GT: TAKE THE DOWEL.

> You do. It’s smooth- in fact, that’s the only describing word you can apply to it.

GT: PUT IT IN THE LATHE.  
GT: GRAB THE CARD WHILE YOU’RE AT IT- STICK IT IN THAT SLOT RIGHT THERE.

> You do.

GT: THERE YOU GO!  
GT: YOU’RE DOING GREAT, MILO.

> The dowel spins on the lathe and gets carved into what looks to be a really wacky and fully solid vase. Which is to say, it’s not a vase at all. But whatever. You take it and trace your thumb longways over the curves.

GT: ON THE ALCHEMITER, NOW.  
GT: THE SMALLER PLATFORM.  
TC: how do you know my name?  
TC: how do you know all this?  
GT: QUESTIONS LATER, ASHER!  
GT: CHECK THE CLOCK.

> 4:28.

GT: YOU STILL HAVE A LOT TO DO!  
GT: YOU’RE MAKING SOMETHING TO ESCAPE.  
GT: ISN’T THAT WHY YOU’RE PLAYING THIS GAME, MILO?  
GT: TO ESCAPE?  
GT: THIS GAME FREES YOU FROM THE STICK-IN-THE-MUD.  
TC: the man in the suit.  
GT: WHATEVER, WHATEVER.  
GT: YOU KNOW, IF NOAH DIDN’T GET YOU SOONER, YOU WOULD BE DEAD RIGHT NOW.  
GT: YOU’RE THE REASON WHY HE MADE THE CHANNEL, WHY HE STARTED REACHING OUT.  
GT: IN A WAY, YOU’VE DESTROYED HIS FREEDOM.  
GT: JUST A BIT.  
TC: …  
GT: KEY TIP, ASHER, YOU CAN JUST STAY SILENT.  
GT: YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO A … EVERY TIME YOU'RE SPEECHLESS.

> The dowel stops being scanned, and in a flash, there's a small object on the bigger platform. It's… a voodoo doll. The same dark green as the dowel and the kernelsprite. And behind you, in a crackle of static, is a knife.

GT: YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN, NOW.  
GT: HAVE FUN!  
ghastlyTradition [GT] has ceased pestering troubledChronicle [TC] at 20:22

> The clock reads one minute. You curl your fingers around the handle of the knife and take the voodoo doll with the other hand.

CTT: What is he doing.  
CCA: Noah, what is he doing?  
CGG: Noah?

======> BE TIM.  
> You can't be Tim right now, because you're busy being Masky.

ghastlyTradition [GT] began pestering maskedTender [MT] at 20:22  
GT: YOUR TURN.  
ghastlyTradition [GT] ceased pestering maskedTender [MT] at 20:22

======> BE NOAH.  
> Your screen's gone blank.

CTT: Shit!

======> BE MILO.  
> The kernelsprite hovers behind you as you lift the blade to the green voodoo doll. You can feel the static buzzing off of it on your back as the razor sharp edge presses against the doll's neck. You bring it across swiftly, and then your neck stings. Your neck stings really bad. Bright red begins to coat the front of your shirt, and the knife has blood on it too. That's funny. You didn't put blood on that. The doll is gone. You fall backwards, and everything goes green.

CTT: Shit, shit, shitshitshitshit fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck  
CAT: Noah. What's going on?  
CTT: The screen! I can't see him!  
CTT: It's all black I can't see him oh fuck fuck fuck.  
CURRENT troubledChronicle [CTC] is no longer an idle chum!  
CTT: MILO!  
CTC: i'm okay.  
CTT: Milo, I can't see you!  
CTT: The screen's just black!  
CTC: weird.  
CCA: Uh…  
CCA: Well, Milo, you're up next for servering.  
CURRENT aggravatedCook [CAC] is no longer an idle chum!  
CAC: Did it work?  
CTC: yes.  
CTC: i server michael, right?  
CAC: Yep  
CAA: i loaded it up.  
CTC: good.

======> BE MICHAEL.  
> You are now MICHAEL ANDERSEN. Right now, you're home alone. You… you really don't know any of these people. VINNY EVERYMAN contacted you with the two files, one for you and your BROTHER, SHAUN ANDERSEN, so now you're here. Sitting in your room. Knees to your chest. Laptop at your feet.  
> Katunk katunk katunk plink. Four sounds echo from deeper inside your house, and it makes you tense up.

CTC: placed down machines.  
CTC: open cruxtruder with heavy item, be aware of the timer on the lower part. place dowel and card in totem lathe. place carved dowel on smaller alchemiter platform.  
CTC: put something in the flashing orb.  
CAA: got it.  
CURRENT apatheticAxeman [CAA] is now an idle chum!  
CTT: Are you okay, Milo?  
CTC: i'll talk about it later.  
CTC: we need to get in the game.

> Clutching your laptop, you do what Milo said and head out to where the machines were placed. Your drawer, of all things, floats out from your room and gently taps the top of the cruxtruder before floating back into where it was, letting out the smooth light-gray dowel and the kernelsprite. God, that thing hurts to look at. You take the dowel and move to the totem lathe, pressing it into the place and slotting the card in too. With a whir, it carves the dowel, and you move that from the lathe to the smaller platform of the alchemiter. All like Milo said. All the while, you fidget with your pocket watch.

> Aaaaand… oh. That's. A gray clock now stands on the larger platform of the alchemiter. It's the same clock from your dreams. The same one with the pendulum swinging back and forth and the faceless surface, not even telling the time right- the hands wiggle out of the frame. Everything about this strikes a chord of dread right into your heart- and your hands move on their own, just like the dream. You take one step forward. Then another. And then you're on the alchemiter's platform, and you're reaching up for the hands, and you take them. They dissolve in your hands as the house shakes, and then settles. The pocket watch isn't in your hands any more.

CURRENT apatheticAxeman [CAA] is no longer an idle chum!  
CGC: I'm up next, right?  
CCA: Yep.  
CCA: And Michael servers you.  
CAA: give. give me a moment  
CAT: However long you need.

======> BE EVAN.  
> Sounds good! You are now EVAN JENNINGS. You're having a pretty swell time right now, sitting together with VIN, JEFF, and STEPH beside you. It's a nice little group, and you're happy they're together. Although Jeff looks kind of upset- he keeps knitting together his brows and then pulling them apart again, typing. The cycle repeats. Steph is up close against you, tapping away at her own laptop. And Vin… what is Vin doing?

JEFF: Guys.  
EVAN: Yeah?  
VINNY: What's up, Jeff?  
JEFF: Look.

> He turns the display of the computer to the rest of you and, clear as day, it's a news report. You kind of lean forward to see it, and Steph shifts to still be against you.  
'METEORS FALLING', it says. 'NO INFORMATION'. 

EVAN: Dude, is this some kinda Onion headline?  
JEFF: No, it's- they're landing all over. It-

> A Pesterchum ding sounds from his computer, and he quickly swivels the display to face him. A few moments later, he sits back in the chair with his hands over his mouth.  
> You get up to take a look at the screen.

STEPH: Share with the class, Ev.  
VINNY: Yeah, what's it say?

> You slowly turn the display around to face the two still on the couch. It's a projected map of all of the meteors that are going to hit, and a cluster of four are going to hit your own town. One more is in the town with Shaun and Michael. One in Florida. And… four in Alabama. Those are the most prominent ones coming- others are said to land, but they aren't as big and they certainly aren't as close.  
> Everyone displays similar reactions of Jeff. Vinny stands up quickly and runs up the stairs to look outside. Stephanie stands as well but walks over to you and grabs at your hand. Jeff is still silent.

STEPH: Is this the game?

> You're silent for a few moments.

EVAN: Yeah.  
JEFF: Did…  
JEFF: Did you see it in the clouds you keep talking about?  
EVAN: No.

======> BE MICHAEL AGAIN.  
> You are now Michael again.

CAA: shaun, you ready?  
CGC: Yes, Michael.

> You deploy the machines. He's at Stormy's old apartment, which makes you frown. You have to extend the room a little, though, so you do. There goes, uh, whatever Grist is.

======> BE SHAUN.  
> You are now SHAUN ANDERSEN. You have no time for introductions. Michael opens the top of the cruxtruder and you work quickly from what that troubledChronicle guy said. Along the way, you discover the- the music box. The music box that Stormy loved. You decide to put it into the eyehurtball, and in a flash it starts playing the melody. Then you continue.  
> What stands on the alchemiter's surface is a Grandfather clock, tall and red. It ticks back and forth, pendulum swinging from side to side. You check the cruxtruder's timer- 

> 1:04.

> This clock is going to be the death of you. The time on the cruxtruder keeps ticking down and down, and you aren't getting any alive-er. So you take out your trusty strife specibus- your hands- and deliver a quick jab right into the glass holding the pendulum in place. You hold the stick of the pendulum in your hands and snap it with all your strength, and everything flashes red before it clears, house settling down into darkness.

CGC: So where the hell are we?  
CTC: the medium.  
CGC: And what does that mean?  
CTC: you, michael and i are all in the game.  
CTC: we are no longer on earth.  
CAA: what  
CTT: What  
CCA: What  
CGG: What  
CAT: What  
CGC: Okay, that's repetitive.  
CGC: No longer on Earth.  
CTC: now you're the repetitive one.  
CGC: Did it do this?  
CTC: no, it wasn't the tall man.  
CAC: It was the game  
CCA: Guys.  
CCA: I found a website, and.  
CCA: Planet Earth is under siege right now.  
CAT: Meteors.  
CAT: The ones within the closest time of landing are heading right for us in NJ and you, Noah.  
CAT: Meteors already hit Shaun, Michael, and Milo.  
CAA: are we dead  
CTT: If you were dead, you wouldn't be here talking to the living.

======> BE MILO.  
> You're probably dead.


	2. ======>

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something in the session breaks.
> 
> ======> BE JAY.

> You are now JAY MERRICK. You and your friend, TIM WRIGHT, have received two packets to each of you- both with a green spirograph on the front. Along with a note, plain and simple, reading 'PLAY THESE!'. That exact color, that exact capitalization. Tim advises that you shouldn't, and maybe he's right. But your chumhandle isn't curiousCamera for nothing, and he isn't cautiousTender for nothing either.  
> But something pops up on your laptop.

CURRENT curiousCamera [CCC] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.

> And something pops up on Tim's, too.

CURRENT cautiousTender [CCT] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.

> Along with,

CURRENT terribleGunsman [CTG] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.  
CURRENT tresspassingActor [CTA] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.

CTT: Something tells me that's where the other four copies went.  
CCA: ...Roll call?  
CCT: Don't.  
CCC: Hi. I'm Jay- this memo just popped up on my laptop.  
CCT: God damn it.

======> BE ALEX.  
> You are now ALEX KRALIE. You've just been entered into a memo with eight strangers and three other people of interest for you. Those, in order of interest, are BRIAN THOMAS, TIM WRIGHT, and JAY MERRICK. So, you know, you're going to have a field day. With the memo glinting off of your glasses like an anime protagonist, you load up the client of Sburb.

======> SHAUN: Click on 'terribleGunsman' to server.

CAC: NEW ORDER!  
CAC: Noah -> Milo -> Michael -> Shaun -> TG -> Jay -> CT -> TA -> Vin -> Me -> Steph -> Jeff -> Noah.  
CURRENT aggravatedCook [CAC] is now an idle chum!  
CCT: Was it him, CC?  
CCC: No, his color's more de-saturated.  
CCC: It was a bright purple.  
CTG: What is this?  
CCT: Nothing that concerns you. Go away.  
CTG: I’ll bring your attention to the fact that there’s no button to leave this memo.  
CURRENT tribeTwelve [CTT] RIGHT NOW left the memo!  
CURRENT tribeTwelve [CTT] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.  
CTT: Yeah there is.  
CCC: No… there isn’t.  
CONTINUE BEING ALEX.  
> No problem. You are still Alex, and you are currently clutching your laptop close to yourself as the heat emanates from the bottom. It's the only source of heat you have- since you're in an abandoned, dilapidated building. It's fun being homeless. It's fun and nobody understands.  
> That is, it is dilapidated until a red selection box comes into view and patches up a big area of the wall with white. Then, three machines are placed down, along with a card.

grievingCynic [GC] began pestering terribleGunsman [TG] at 20:36  
GC: New guy.  
GC: You opened Sburb, right?  
GC: I'm putting things down.  
TG: I see that.  
GC: You look terrible.  
TG: They don't call me TG for nothing.  
GC: They don't call you that.  
GC: Here. My name is Shaun. What's yours?  
GC: Simple.  
TG: Alex.  
GC: Wonderful to meet you, Alex.

> A rock floats up and smashes against the top of the cylinder, releasing a flashing ball and a dark dark teal dowel.

GC: Take the dowel and the card.  
GC: Put them in the lathe- the smallest machine.

> You stand up and first look up to the sky through a hole in the ceiling. Then, you grab the dowel, card hovering into your hands. Press them both into place, and it turns. Then, you take the dowel out and spin it in your hands. The kernelsprite follows you as you head back to your laptop.

TG: What now, Shaun?  
GC: Put the dowel on the smaller platform on the biggest machine.

> You place it onto the smaller platform of the biggest machine. The kernelsprite buzzes around you and, before the dowel is scanned, suddenly flashes purple. A loud ring of static sounds, and there's now a person hovering in front of you, with a long ghostly tail. It looks down at its hands, then up at you, and then screams.  
> Poof. It explodes in a cloud of particles.

ALEX: …

> What sits on the alchemiter's platform is a stack of dark teal papers. It looks like… well, you can't tell. You get up closer and the glasses finally do what they're supposed to be doing. In bright teal font on the very top reads MARBLE HORNETS SCREENPLAY.

> Well, this is a vicious mockery. Swiftly, you take the packet of matches you have from your PHOTOGRAPHY MODUS and light one on the side of the box. You drop the now-lit match on the pile of papers. Then, everything suddenly shakes and flashes, and... 

CTG: Swift.  
CGC: Congratulations. Here, I'm clapping for you.  
CTC: wait.  
CAA: something's missing.

======> BE SHAUN AGAIN.  
> You are now Shaun, again. Using the camera feature, you see that Alex blinks- once, twice, three times, then drops to a knee.

======> BE MILO.  
> You are now Milo. From your camera, Michael blinks- once, twice, three times, then drops to curl into a ball on the floor.

======> BE NOAH.  
> You are now Noah. From your camera, you see jack shit, because it's still entirely dark.

CTT: What?  
CTG: It.  
CTG: It's gone.  
CAA: it  
CAA: it is  
CAA: it is it is it is  
CAA: oh my god  
CCA: You mean…  
CGG: Evan was right.  
CAT: ...We need to get into the game as fast as we can.  
CCT: Nobody's even questioning what it is?  
CCT: What are we talking about?  
CAT: Mr. Slim.  
CAA: the man in the suit.  
CURRENT aggravatedCook [CAC] is no longer an idle chum!  
CAC: The stick-in-the-mud.  
CCC: We've all seen it?  
CTT: That's.  
CTT: That's really creepy.  
CCT: What's creepier is what put us here.  
CCT: Who made the memo?  
CCA: I did.  
CCA: But I swear, I can't code for anything.  
CGG: And I wanted him to make it for me- I can't code either.  
CCT: CC and I both got two packets. Both with a green spirograph.  
CCT: It came with a note written in purple.  
CCT: Do any of you know anything about this?  
CTC: well.  
CTC: while i was entering the game, i was messaged by someone with the handle 'ghastlyTradition'.  
CTC: they typed in neon purple and all capitals.  
CTT: Why didn't you tell me?  
CTT: Your screen is still black, by the way, where- where are you?  
CTC: in the game.  
CTC: and i didn't tell you because i didn't think it was important.  
CTT: Everything's important, Milo.  
CCC: Game?  
CCA: Evan, AC, got a game in the mail. It was given to all of us, and we were told to play it.  
CCA: According to the order, you're next.  
CCA: TG, do you have any issues about being the server player for CC?  
CCT: I have many objections.  
CTG: No, not at all.  
CTG: I'll get on it.

======> BE JEFF.  
> You are now JEFF KOVAL. Yadda yadda, introductions. Evan looks like he’s spacing out, staring down at the screen of his laptop. Steph is beside him, looking at you.

STEPH: Updates on the tracker?  
JEFF: Yeah. One in Alabama hit a few minutes ago.  
JEFF: Another one is on its way- two more aren’t far behind.  
STEPH: Do you think that’s where the new people are?  
JEFF: No doubt, right?

======> BE JAY.  
> You are now Jay. Tim's said that he's going back to his house, and he promises that he'll keep a close eye on him. Nevertheless; this gives you a little bit of anxiety. terribleGunsman is probably Alex, right? They've been looking for Alex- he shot at him, for christ's sake, but… you don't know. You boot up the client, and you're connected.  
> Three machines plop down in the small motel room- the biggest (the alchemiter) crushing the bed beside you. Alex doesn't seem to be doing anything with malice, though- he's not flinging you out a window.  
CCC: So what do I do?  
CTC: open cruxtruder with heavy item, take dowel to totem lathe with card. take dowel to alchemiter's smaller platform and do something with it.  
CTC: put something in the flashing ball that comes out.

> While troubledChronicle gives you the information, Alex takes the TV in the motel room and smashes it on the top of the cruxtruder, unleashing the dowel and the flashing ball. Yikes. That thing is bright. You press the dowel and the card into the lathe and while it spins, you sift through your haphazard belongings for something to put in.

CCC: Any suggestions?  
CTC: it is your call.  
CGC: Shit.  
CTT: What?  
CGC: I went outside- there are these things out here.  
CGC: They're like, full black, and short, and…  
CGC: They look all weird.  
CGC: And they keep humming and ticking and some of them have ponytails.  
CTC: those are imps.  
CTC: they take on the features of things prototyped.  
CTC: but only the first prototype- sprites can be prototyped twice.  
CAA: i put in my pocket watch.  
CGC: I put in a music box- so that explains the humming and ticking.  
CGC: But ponytails?  
CGC: Oh, and some of them have. Well. Their faces are mutilated.  
CGC: Some have slit throats and wrists.  
CGG: Disgusting, thanks.  
CTG: I prototyped a person, but now they're gone.  
CTC: your sprite exploded, TG.  
CTC: it didn't want to compute everything that happened.  
CTG: I see.  
CCC: So it matters what I put in?  
CTC: essentially.

> You rifle through your belongings. At the same time, in a flash of purple static, the window to the motel is open and a blue jay flies through it. Before you can say "ooh, blue jay!" the bird flies into the kernelsprite.

> Well, that's that decision taken care of.

> The dowel stops spinning and you take it off the lathe and place it onto the smaller platform of the Alchemiter. What appears on the platform is a record tape, the same ones you have in boxes and boxes.  
CCC: It gave me a tape.  
CCC: What do I do with the tape?  
CTC: it's how you get in the game.  
CTC: whatever you do, it's meaningful.  
CCT: Try playing it.  
CCT: It's what you do with all the other tapes.

> You press it into the tape player, and the motel's TV screen flashes to life with a light blue glow. And then, the world shakes.

CTG: Oh, he kept the tapes.  
CTG: Almost forgot.  
CTG: I think that's kind of vaguely meaningful.  
CCT: Shut up.

======> BE TIM.


	3. ======>

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More entries and more weird bullshit. 
> 
> ======> BE TIM.

BE TIM.

> You are now TIM WRIGHT, for realsies this time. You mean, what? What other time? You totally don't find it weird at all that you blacked out for a few minutes earlier today for no reason. Maybe you need more medication. But all these weird people keep talking about a game and apparently Alex is in another world and maybe, maybe that's better. But you think you have to go to that world too. Adult life is already so goddamn weird. It's so goddamn weird, and nobody understands.

CCT: Jay, are you alright?  
CCC: Last time I checked, yeah. Outside's all different, though.  
CCC: Why is this thing chirping at me?  
CCT: Thing?  
CTC: that's your sprite.  
CTC: you prototyped a bird. it doesn't speak in english.  
CTC: you have to prototype something else to understand it.  
CCC: But I have nothing else.  
CTC: bird it is, then.  
CTG: Wow, you're really helpful, TC. Please, keep on telling us things.  
CTC: i'm not your sprite, TG.  
CTT: I'd hope you weren't… any sprite?  
CTT: I'm still really lost. How long until I enter?  
CTG: How self-centered of you.  
CAC: CT -> TA -> Vin -> Me -> Steph -> Jeff -> Noah.  
CAC: Six.  
CTT: It's not self-centered when there are literal fucking meteors raining down on the planet, TG.  
CCT: Jay, are you ready to help me get in?  
CCC: Mhm!

BE JAY.  
> You're not ready.

BE TIM AGAIN.  
> Double-clicking the client program, you connect with Jay and he starts putting down things in your house. You are startled by this, as nothing has ever been put in your house through a computer program. But troubledChronicle quickly relays the information to you and you get to work.

> Soon enough, all that weird dowel shit is over with and what generates on the spirograph-marked surface of the Alchemiter is a pack of cigarettes. Oh boy. This game knows exactly what you need and when you need it- the craving had been acting up recently. But this pack is dark orange and not, you know, different colors, so maybe it wouldn't be safe.

> Whatever. The game gave Jay a tape, so maybe it's time for you to have a smoke. You take a cigarette out of the pack and grab your lighter from your Prescription modus (one of those little scheduled pill packs. It's weird how it knows when you need something), clicking it on and lighting the end of the cigarette.

> Oh, right, the sprite. TC said it mattered what you put in, but you don't really have much in the way of personal items. It's your house and your furniture and that's it. But you notice that in your Prescription modus, the mask is also there. That mask. That mask that haunts your life. This modus kind of sucks, actually. But you take out the mask, take one look at the sprite, and chuck it in there.

> Welp. You take a long drag off the cigarette. It doesn't seem to do anything at first, but when you exhale it feels like static in your mind. Your heart drowns with panic- is it outside? Is it there? Did you lock the door?

CURRENT trespassingActor [CTA] disconnected from the memo!  
CTT: They didn't even say anything…  
CTG: Typical.

> Another drag as you step off the platform and anxiously move the curtains to peek outside. Another exhale, and it feels like static.

CURRENT terribleGunsman [CTG] disconnected from the memo!  
CCC: Um?  
CCC: Tim's smoking right now, is this really the time?

> Third drag. This is probably the last one. You're really using this one up, huh? You don't see anything, but the static comes back in a big swell.

CURRENT curiousCamera [CCC] disconnected from the memo!  
CCA: Where are they going?

> You can't take any more drags. It's physically sickening. You drop the cigarette to the ground and crush it under your boot, and suddenly the world shakes.

CURRENT cautiousTender [CCT] disconnected from the memo!  
CGC: Oh well.  
CAC: That TA guy was next…

> After you get over the world shaking, you decide to go back to your computer to see what the other people are saying. But, apparently, you've been disconnected. That's… weird. But anyways, you remember that Brian was next, so that's who you decide to pester.

cautiousTender [CT] began pestering trespassingActor [TA] at 20:58  
CT: You're up next for the game, Brian.  
CT: Where've you been?  
TA: not important.  
TA: meteors.  
CT: The one time I get to talk to you again and you speak in fragments.  
CT: Great. You know what?  
CT: Just boot up the client.

 

BE BRIAN.

> You are now BRIAN THOMAS. That's all there is to say on the matter. That's all you want to say on the matter. You know this game, and you know it's time for you to enter. You boot up the client and look around your little wing of the abandoned hospital that you call home.

BE TIM.  
> You are now Tim again. Why is Brian in the hospital? Why wouldn't he leave? Why does this make you sick? Whatever. Whatever! He looks kind of bad, hood pulled over his head and marred gloves stained with red. A cloth mask lays at his feet as he squats on rubble, hands on the keyboard and poised, ready to type. His face is scarred, tufts of blonde hair peeking out of the hood and attempting to cover his face.

CT: You don't look good at all, Brian, what happened?  
CT: Do you need help?  
TA: game.  
CT: …  
CT: Right.

> You set down the machines a little bit further away from him, accidentally blocking off half of the hallway with the alchemiter. He doesn't seem to mind, though- just sets down his laptop lightly and slides down the pile of paint chips and wall bits to get to work.

CT: How do you know about all this?  
CT: The game. How do you know what to do?

BE BRIAN.  
> You are now Brian, again. Your laptop dings, and you head back to look at it.

GT: SO WHAT'RE YOU GONNA PUT IN THERE?

> This motherfucker again.

TA: mask.  
GT: ORIGINAL. DO YOU EVER RESPOND IN MORE THAN ONE WORD?  
TA: yes.  
GT: WILL I EVER SEE IT?  
TA: no.  
GT: WHATEVER! HOW DO YOU THINK THAT'LL GO?  
GT: I WONDER HOW THE GAME WILL EVEN INTERPRET IT.  
GT: WILL IT MAKE ANOTHER YOU?  
GT: AND HEY, DIDN'T THAT CT GUY PUT IN HIS MASK? I SHOULD ASK HIM HOW THAT WENT.  
TA: silence.  
GT: BOLD WORD COMING FROM SUCH AN ACTIVE PLAYER.  
GT: ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU THINK YOU CAN BOSS ME AROUND.  
GT: THAT DOWEL, WHAT'LL IT DO?

trespassingActor [TA] began pestering maskedTender [MT] at 21:04  
TA: make him stop.  
trespassingActor [TA] ceased pestering maskedTender [MT] at 21:04

BE HABIT.  
> Your screen is blank now. Motherfucker!

BE TIM.  
> You really need new medication. You close whatever pesterchum window that was, you couldn't exactly read it. Maybe you're having a stroke. But anyway, you return to your SBURB window and notice it's blacked out.

CTC: i see how he does it now.  
CTT: Who?  
CTC: don't worry about it, noah.

BE MILO.  
> You've been denied!

FINE. BE BRIAN.  
> You've been denied!

BE EVAN.  
> There you go. You are now Evan again. Vin's returned, and Jeff has finally taken a break from his computer. You seem to zone back into reality standing, and you look briefly to Steph for guidance.

STEPH: I know you're worried, Evan.  
STEPH: There's nothing any of us can do about the four of them, none of us can code.  
EVAN: They're supposed to be in the game!  
STEPH: And they are!  
STEPH: You heard TG, he didn't feel its presence anymore.  
EVAN: I didn't see this. I didn't see this.  
STEPH: You didn't see the meteors, either. You can't be at fault for this.

> A part of you whispers that you can be.


	4. [S] BEGIN. (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody in? Good? Good.

> You are still Evan, and you think you might as well get on with the entries and hope this works. You don't even know what would happen if there were two sessions, split apart. Could Shaun server two people?

CAC: Shaun, can you see the dude you servered?  
CAC: Served? Whatever  
CGC: Glitchy. But yeah.  
CCA: That's… really weird.  
CCA: Noah, didn't you have problems seeing Milo?  
CTT: Still can't.  
CTT: Milo, what the fuck is going on?  
CTC: nothing.  
CTT: Really?  
CTC: yes. nothing. nothing is happening outside.  
CTT: What do you see?  
CTC: gray.  
CTT: Gray?  
CGG: What about your sprite?

BE MILO.  
> You look down at yourself. What… are you? You're glowing. It's completely dark inside your room save for yourself and the laptop in front of you. You're sitting cross-legged, but you don't even have legs- it's like a ghost. You're a ghost. Then how are you talking? You reach a hand up to your throat and gently feel. It's wet. Your neck is wet and when you take your hand away the blood is the same green as your text color. The wound is open.

> What even happened?

CTC: blew up.  
CTT: Like the TG guy?  
CTC: yes.  
CAC: Well  
CAC: Vin you're up  
CGG: Oh, I am?  
CGG: What did we plan?

 

BE EVAN.  
> You resume being Evan.

EVAN: You go to your house, remember?  
VINNY: Evan, this is my house.  
EVAN: Right.  
JEFF: We can just… leave.  
EVAN: Yeah.  
STEPH: Why do we have to leave?  
JEFF: If we don't-  
EVAN: If we don't, we'll get put right into the shit with everyone else.  
EVAN: And the houses come with us.  
VINNY: All of it?  
EVAN: Yep.  
JEFF: Clouds, again?  
EVAN: …  
EVAN: Yep.  
STEPH: Okay. Let's go.

> Steph gets up, then you do, then Jeff does. Vinny stays on the couch with furrowed brows.

EVAN: It'll be fine, dude.  
VINNY: How?  
EVAN: You get out of this alive. We all do. Everything's going to go fine.

> Vinny turns his own laptop screen around to you.

> The screen is thousands of news articles reporting meteor storms. Property damage. Entire houses are gone, craters left behind like the pits on the moon.

VINNY: People are dying, Evan.

> You're silent. You're too silent. Something happens.

EVAN?: They're in their own games, Vinny!  
EVAN?: They're fine.  
EVAN?: And if they aren't fine, they weren't chosen.

> You shake your head and blink a few times. Did you just… black out… standing up? Why are you closer to Vinny? Why are you standing over him? Steph's hand is on your wrist, and you turn to look at her.

STEPH: We should go.  
JEFF: Yeah.

> They're both concerned. Vinny is staring up at you. What are you doing?

EVAN: Yeah.  
EVAN: Jeff, can you drive?

> He jingles the keys that are already in his hand. You, Steph, and him go upstairs and pile into the van. The ride is silent.

BE VINNY.  
> You are now VINNY EVERYMAN. Your friends are gone. It's you in your basement. And as you boot up the client, you're instantly connected to trespassingActor. Glad to see that works, though you don't know how. Actually, you don't want to know how. You're going to leave it up to weird magic, and that's that on that.

BE JEFF.  
> You are now Jeff. Steph and Evan are quietly talking in the backseat of the van.

STEPH: Are you alright?  
EVAN: I- I don't know.  
STEPH: Was he bothering you?  
EVAN: I… think so.  
EVAN: He's- he's fuckin' thinking about things beyond our control.  
EVAN: Shouldn't he be concerned about his fuckin' safety?  
STEPH: You're not usually that selfish.  
EVAN: Steph, it's our fuckin' lives.  
EVAN: I'm gonna be concerned about our lives.  
EVAN: I want- I want to be safe.  
STEPH: I get it.

> You look in the mirror attached to the ceiling of the car. Evan and Steph are both turned to each other, Steph gently holding his hands. Evan's hands are shaking, and his eyes keep darting around to outside the car to Steph's face. He pauses on Steph's face and lets out a sigh.

JEFF: I get it too.  
JEFF: We're all we've got left.  
JEFF: It's fine if you get worried about us.

> Evan tenses up and looks at you, but drops his head and takes in another big breath.

EVAN: Yeah.  
STEPH: Can we go to Hoagie Haven?  
STEPH: Before it's all gone?  
JEFF: Yeah.

BE VINNY.  
> You are now Vinny, again.

trespassingActor [TA] began pestering godlessGuardian [GG] at 21:10  
TA: go.  
GG: Go where?  
TA: cruxtruder.  
GG: ...Okay?

> You follow what TA says and get up, walking to the cruxtruder and experimentally turning the wheel. Your couch is used to tap open the cruxtruder's top, and then gently set back down where it came from. Then, you work from what Evan told you. The dowel comes out, along with a kernelsprite. In which, a flash of purple and a cackle later, the deer corpse that Evan mutilated pops into the sprite.

TA: safety.  
TA: you will be safe.  
GG: What about you guys?  
TA: do not worry.  
trespassingActor [TA] began pestering godlessGuardian [GG] at 21:14

> Welp. There goes that correspondance. You wonder what exactly's up with that guy. But there's no time for that now, you have a carved dowel in your hands! You place it on the alchemiter and out comes a green video camera, the same as your text. You step onto the platform and experimentally pick it up, feeling the cold weirdly-undefinable texture of the… cruxite? Whatever. You slip your right hand through the strap on the side and flick open the viewport with your other hand, looking down at your feet. Your shoes in the viewport are replaced with perfect pristine hiking boots. You move the camera to your surroundings, and it's everything you want in life. Your friends are happy. Your friends are safe. Your friends aren't murdering each other, or yelling, or crying, or covered in deer blood. Just happy.

> You move the camera to point at your own face and flip over the viewport. And that's when everything flashes white.

CAC: Heard shaking  
CAC: Well  
CAC: Felt it  
CAC: Vin?  
CGG: Good here.  
CAC: Thank fuckin god

BE EVAN.  
> You are now Evan. Jeff's pulled the van into your driveway. There's a hoagie in one of your hands and Steph's hand in your other. You're getting out of the car and looking right into her eyes. Her brows are furrowed. She's frowning. Your brows are furrowed too. You're about to cry.

STEPH: Be safe.  
STEPH: Make it out alive.

EVAN: I will.  
EVAN: We'll make it through.

> You bring her in for a kiss, hand once holding her hand now at the back of her head, fingers laced through her hair. She has her arms wrapped around your neck. Her glasses press up against your forehead, but you don't care. You pull away and blink, then smile at her. And you close the car door. And you enter your house.

CTT: What's it look like for you there?  
CGG: Woods. I can see buildings, though.  
CGG: Evan, were you next?  
CAC: Yep.

> Now inside, you set the hoagie down and jump to place your laptop onto a table, typing fast enough to set the keys ablaze. Adrenaline courses through you.

CAC: Machines. Have to be there.

> There are three shakes throughout your house.

CGG: Good luck, Ev.

> Getting to work, you run to the cruxtruder and shake out your arms.

CGG: Is he really gonna just pull the top off that thing?  
CGC: I couldn't do it.  
CAA: me neither.  
CTC: not possible.

> You wrap your fingers around the wheel on the side of the cylinder and pull, hard. You brace yourself on the base of the machine with your foot. In a flash of purple, you fall backwards with the wheel in your hand. The cruxtruder is opened.

CGG: HOLY SHIT.  
CTT: He did it, didn't he.

> You drop the wheel and grab the dowel. Purple flashes behind you, but you're not sure you care. You're just going through the motions, and slam the dowel onto the smaller platform, waiting for the artifact to pop up. It flashes into existence and you snatch it up in an instant- it's a knife. A well-built one. You feel the handle and rotate it in your grasp, doing experimental slashes in the air. 

> Movement rustles behind you. You whirl around and throw the knife, landing dead-on in the chest of your apparent Rabbitsprite. Everything flashes white with a shake.

BE STEPH.  
> You are now Steph. You are currently biting the skin of your thumb raw as you watch the meteor arc down from the sky right into your boyfriend's house. Jeff has one hand on your shoulder and the other on the wheel, and when the meteor collides with the ground everything shakes.

STEPH: Oh my god.  
JEFF: He's fine.  
STEPH: Oh my god, oh my god, he's-  
JEFF: Steph, he's fine. He's in the game.  
STEPH: What if he didn't get in? What if something happened? W-  
JEFF: Steph! Calm down.  
STEPH: He's gone!  
JEFF: You're up next. You'll see him soon.

> You both pull into the driveway of your old apartment. You haven't been there in a while- all of the items from there remain in your Sketchbook modus. You wonder if you'll have enough time to hang up all of your paintings on the shelves, enough time to rearrange your desk, enough time to sort through all your clothes.

> Jeff unlocks the car doors. You slowly, shakily step out. Once you close the car door and Jeff pulls away, you let out a sob. And you head into your barren apartment.

> Nobody's bought it yet. You uncapchalogue your desk and computer, at least setting those up and flicking on the light. Barren. Empty. You think of all the people that are going to get left behind. You boot up SBURB.

> Evan connects. Thank god. You let out a cry of relief.

agressiveCook [AC] started pestering artisticTorrent [AT] at 21:22  
AC: Steph  
AT: You're okay you're okay you're okay you're okay.  
AC: I'm right here. I'm okay. I can see you  
AC: You're back in your apartment  
AT: Yeah  
AC: Shit  
AC: We gotta get to work

> Gently, there are three machines placed in your home. He uses the mouse to open the wheel. He talks to you through the process.

AC: Put the dowel and the card in the totem lathe  
AT: What did you prototype?  
AC: Dead rabbit  
AC: I don't know where it came from.  
AC: What are you going to prototype?

> The dowel carves. The kernelsprite flashes at you.

AT: You gave me the sigma detector.  
AT: I'll prototype that.  
AT: There's nothing bad it could do when it gets put into monsters.  
AC: Smart

> You uncapchalogue it and hold it in your hands before chucking it into the sprite. It starts clicking violently, but what can ya do. You set the dowel onto the smaller alchemiter platform and what pops out is a blank canvas and paints, exactly like the ones you used to use. The canvas is white and the easel is blue. Paints rest on the easel shelf in different shades of blue, and your hands move almost on their own. You paint an ocean. And when you finish, signing your name, everything flashes white.

> The sight out your window is the exact same to what you painted.

CAT: I'm in.  
CCA: Just got home.  
CTT: After Jeff gets in, it's me?  
CAC: Yep

BE JEFF.  
> You are now Jeff again. You have, as previously said, just got home. And you have a plan. You enter your house and weave through until you get to the backyard, walking into the woods and looking for something. Alex comes out and stands on the porch, watching you and shouting- asking where you're going. 

> You find the spot where you buried Sparky. You take out your Filming modus's camera and dig through the files until you find a shovel. You watch the footage of you capchaloguing it and it lands in the dirt. You dig up Sparky. You film Sparky. Sparky's in your modus. You head back.

ALEX: What's going on?  
ALEX: Meteors?  
JEFF: Just stay inside, Al.  
JEFF: Everything will be fine- stay inside, and stay back.

> Steph connects. You watch as the machines get placed down and Alex stands fearfully beside you as you work, helping you to open the top of the cruxtruder with his metal baseball bat. It's actually good that he helps you. You're not sure what you would be without collaborative effort. But, you get to the part where the kernelsprite gets popped out.

ALEX: What is that?  
JEFF: Remember Sparky?  
ALEX: Yeah? What's going on with Sparky?  
JEFF: Turn around.

> Alex does, and you go through your Film modus again, going through the footage at twice the speed to hopefully shoot the corpse into the kernelsprite. You don't want to touch it. That works, though! In a flash of red, Sparkysprite barks and Alex instinctively turns around. He's shocked. 

ALEX: Sparky!

> You smile, watch your brother reunite with his best friend, then go on with your work. Before long there's a pile of tinderwood on the cruxtruder and a matchbox in your hands. You take out a match, light it, and drop it in the tinder. The fire flashes white, and the house shakes.

> When you enter the land, there's only ash on the cruxtruder. There's ash everywhere outside. It coats your windows. Alex is safe.

CCA: Noah.  
CTT: Fuckin' finally!  
CTT: I've been watching the news.  
CTT: I've got 15 minutes.  
CTT: I've got fifteen fucking minutes, Jeff. Please hurry. Please for the love of god hurry.

BE NOAH.  
> That was a big circle of stupidity, wasn't it? It all comes back to you. It all comes back to you and your house that's being threatened by a meteor. Jeff connects fast and sets down your machines.

CTC: you're going to be fine, noah.  
CTC: slow and steady.  
CTT: Fifteen minutes Milo.

> You get to work quickly. 

burningStubborn [BS] started pestering troubledChronicle at ??:??  
BS: hey. milo.  
TC: not again.  
TC: don't talk in white. i won't highlight it.  
BS: alright. black works too.  
BS: what do you mean, not again?  
TC: ghastlyTradition contacted me. i thought i set my account to chums only.  
BS: fuckin' GT. well, whatever. don't listen to him. he only wants to hurt.  
BS: i want to help.  
TC: he said the same thing.  
BS: milo, do you want to help noah?  
TC: …  
TC: yes.  
BS: then hold still.

burningStubborn [BS] ceased pestering troubledChronicle at ??:??

> As you press the dowel and card into the totem lathe, you hear a flash behind you. Instinctively, you turn, heart hammering in your chest. Maybe it could pop out. In front of you is Milo. But… not. He's green. He's floating in the air with a curly ghost tail, and his wrists and neck are mutilated with cuts. His neck is bleeding. His neck is bleeding and you feel like you're going to throw up.

MILO: ...Noah.

> His voice is raspy.

 

NOAH: Oh my god.  
MILO: Noah. I'm here for a reason, I'm-

> There's a flash of white. The kernelsprite shoots into Milo and in a blinding flash, Milo is… there again. He has legs. He's gray.

MILOSPRITE: Noah!  
NOAH: Oh. My. Fucking. God.

> Milosprite floats over quick and hugs you. You're still in absolute shock. The clock ticks, and it's like he realizes- and instantly pulls back, floating to the ground and running to the totem lathe.

MILOSPRITE: Put this on the alchemiter.  
NOAH: Okay!

> You do what he says. Since he's your sprite. He probably has whoever knows how much information. It worries you. He's worrying himself. You press the dowel onto the smaller platform and a gray fortune cookie pops onto the alchemiter's platform. You dive to grab it and fumble with the wrapper, then crack it open.

[DEATH IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.]

> It says, in pitch black ink. The paper turns entirely black, and then the world does.


	5. Noah: Survey aftermath.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to the Marble Hornets guys? Who cares. Let's focus in on Florida Man. He is basically our John.

> You are now Noah. You're laying on the alchemiter with your chest pressed against the cold surface. The fortune cookie is gone, and so is the fortune. All of your lights are still on, your computer still whirrs, but something… sets you off. Puts you on edge. It is not your 13th birthday, but the eerie sense still permeates; something that's long and incomprehensible waiting ahead for you. Beckoning for you, just around a corner. It's that feeling you have.

> You're going to have a very long day.

CCA: Milo? Why're you in his house?  
CTC: didn't you see?  
CGG: Your color changed.  
CAC: He's in?  
CTC: yeah, he's. he's in.  
CAT: There's an ocean outside.

> You slowly push yourself up and brace your arms to stop them shaking, turning to lay on your back.

NOAH: Milo?  
MILOSPRITE: Yeah, Noah?  
NOAH: What the fuck are you?

> He pauses. You can hear him pause, take in a raspy breath, and touch down on the floor to walk over to you. He walks himself right next to you and crouches, touching two fingers to his neck.

MILOSPRITE: I'm… a sprite.  
MILOSPRITE: Your guide.  
NOAH: What happened?  
MILOSPRITE: When I was entering.  
MILOSPRITE: And you couldn't see me.  
MILOSPRITE: My cruxite artifact-  
NOAH: The thing we made.  
MILOSPRITE: Yeah. The thing I made was a voodoo doll.   
MILOSPRITE: And…

> He moves the hand touching his neck to hold the side of his head. You realize now, turning your head to look at him, that he's fuzzy. He's pulsing with gray and green, a certain light emanating from him. 

MILOSPRITE: When I cut the voodoo doll's neck, it cut my own neck.   
MILOSPRITE: My kernelsprite was behind me.   
MILOSPRITE: I don't know how it happened, but I got prototyped.  
NOAH: That's…  
MILOSPRITE: And I- and I know so much, Noah.

> He flexes his fingers and takes in a shaky breath, closing his eyes tight. He takes a big breath in through his mouth, and out through his nose.

MILOSPRITE: terribleGunsman, or- I guess, Alex.  
MILOSPRITE: That's his name, by the way.  
MILOSPRITE: He… his sprite blew up.  
MILOSPRITE: The component was unstable.  
MILOSPRITE: I'm trying to… parse all this information, I guess.  
MILOSPRITE: And not blow up.  
NOAH: That…  
NOAH: That fuckin' blows.

CAC: Ocean?  
CAT: Yeah. It's all just… water.  
CAT: My apartment is on a little hill.  
CGG: I'm in the woods.  
CCA: Me too.  
CAC: Aye.  
CAA: same with me.  
CGC: Okay, anyone who's not in the woods, say something. Or we're just gonna flood this chat.  
CTC: woods in noah's land.  
CGC: And yours?  
CTC: woods.  
CAC: Fuckin weird.

> You sit up and bring your knees to your chest, examining Milo's face. He's still the same Milo you know, but… it looks like he has a purpose. A plan.

NOAH: Can I…  
NOAH: Hug you?  
MILOSPRITE: Yeah.  
MILOSPRITE: I still have a prototype left, but I can choose what to prototype.  
MILOSPRITE: So-

> You cut him off with a tight embrace, almost pulling him down to you. Your arms are around his waist and head in the crook of his neck. When you get closer, you can feel an almost static-like texture to him, buzzing softly in your ears. You don’t feel a heartbeat. 

NOAH: Motherfucker.  
NOAH: Never die again, you fuckin' hear me?

> He laughs, wrapping his own arms around you. His laugh is raspy. Everything that comes out of his mouth is raspy.

MILOSPRITE: Roger that.

> After a few more moments of tender hug-having, you pull away and fix your hair before standing up. Milo bounces to his feet and floats a little bit above.

NOAH: Hey, you're finally taller than me.  
MILOSPRITE: I think I was always taller than you.  
NOAH: So.  
NOAH: Sprites are… guides?  
MILOSPRITE: Yeah.  
NOAH: The other sprites-  
NOAH: Are they helpful?

> He pauses and kind of… looks over your shoulder.

MILOSPRITE: Four are animals.  
MILOSPRITE: One exploded.  
MILOSPRITE: One talks in morse code, though we'll probably never see that one.  
MILOSPRITE: And the other three are inanimate objects.  
MILOSPRITE: All prototyped once, so they speak probable nonsense.  
MILOSPRITE: I'm an outlier.  
NOAH: So you are the only one that speaks proper goddamn English.  
MILOSPRITE: For now.  
NOAH: Goddamn.

> Milo falters and lands his feet on the ground, suddenly staggering and pressing his hands to the sides of his head. His face is strained, eyes shut tight again. You instantly are at his side, holding one hand over his chest and the other on his back. 

NOAH: Milo?  
MILOSPRITE: The-

> He coughs and stumbles again.

MILOSPRITE: The answer is in the crawlspace.  
NOAH: What the- what the fuck does that mean?

> He looks up at you with tears welling up in his eyes, breath heaving. He looks scared.

MILOSPRITE: So much.  
NOAH: Let's- Milo…  
MILOSPRITE: Don't-

> Milo forces himself upwards off the ground and pulls out of your grip. You are extraordinarily worried for your cousin… sprite… thing. 

MILOSPRITE: I’m fine! I’m fine.  
MILOSPRITE: Do you know about alchemizing yet?  
NOAH: The fuck?

> The distraction as welcome, as Milo spins around and phases right through your couch to get to the cruxtruder.

CTC: can all server players put the punch designix down?   
CAC: K

> Per Jeff, another machine is plonked into your house. It looks like a piano without keys- slots and buttons and a typewriter keyboard all resting on the surface. Milo beckons you over and takes a journal out- presumably his modus- and scratches out two different things he wrote. Subsequently, his laptop and headphones rest on the floor.

MILOSPRITE: The process of entry also served as a tutorial.  
MILOSPRITE: You can alchemize things right from the card, punching them from this machine right here.  
NOAH: Okay…?

> He flips the cards around to read their captchas and types them in before slotting the cards into the… well… slot. They get punched.

MILOSPRITE: You can’t take out the cards once they’re punched.  
MILOSPRITE: But you can just make new ones.  
MILOSPRITE: And some of our players have started gathering grist.

BE EVAN.  
> You are now Evan. Once you set the punch designix in Steph’s home, you went outside to realize you were not alone. You started stabbing all of the hostile things you see.

BE NOAH AGAIN.  
> You are now Noah again. You watch him work and then he hands the cards to you.

MILOSPRITE: Get a cruxite dowel.   
MILOSPRITE: Put both these cards in the slot you used for the pre-punched card.  
MILOSPRITE: Carve the dowel, make the thing.  
NOAH: And what’ll this do?  
MILOSPRITE: Depends.

> You take the cards and walk over to the totem lathe. Milo hands you the dowel as well once you slot in the two cards, and you watch as it spins.

NOAH: The game does this?  
MILOSPRITE: Yeah.  
NOAH: Why would we need this mechanic?  
MILOSPRITE: To make cool stuff? Magic sprite bullshit says nothing on that.   
NOAH: Huh.

> The dowel carves and you slide it onto the smaller platform of the alchemiter. 

LAPTOP && HEADPHONES - HEADTOP

> Huh. On the bigger platform of the alchemiter is a weird pair of headphones- the ear cups look like a computer mouse and the band displays the scars of Milo’s laptop. You pick it up and experimentally put it on- and a screen shows up in front of your eyes! You use the mouse of the right ear to move the mouse around on the screen like a joystick, and double-click open Pesterchum.

CTT: Hey?  
CGG: Noah!  
CGG: Something weird is up with Milo, his color’s all weird.  
CTT: Yeah, I know.  
CTT: He asked to put down the punch designix for a reason- you can make shit with it.

> Milo relays the information to the memo, while you pull the headtop down from your ears and look outside through your doors. 

LAND OF BOARDWALKS AND SIGILS.  
> Oh. Your land is dark. Very dark. Through the shadows, though, you can see that your house is facing over a river, the water gray. The sky is gray too- no sun in sight. You also realize that your house is on a dock, and that dock is connected to… boardwalks. The trees bordering the paths have carvings etched into the wood, and all of them have eyes. They’re carved, but they still feel like they’re watching you.

NOAH: Milo?  
MILOSPRITE: Yeah?  
NOAH: Why is my planet the fucking boardwalk?


End file.
